Destiny
by Sleepydreamer97
Summary: Abandoned as an infant and later used for science testing, Raven spent the first fifteen years of her life in a cage. Escape soon comes and Raven leaves the science facility with a few friends. She soon flies to New York were she meets Raphael. Raven soon falls for the turtle and learns about his life. But soon, Raphael gets a secret that angers Leo. There are scenes with mpreg
1. Hell and Escape

All my life, I have been shut in cages.

As an infant, I was abandoned at a local hospital in Jericho, California. I was brought in to the nursery and taken care of for two nights. On my third night at the hospital, people in black clothes snuck into the nursery and kidnapped all the infants. With care, the people took us from the hospital and brought us to a science facility in Burke, North Dakota. Some of the infants were small and sick and had to have special care. When the scientists were sure that all of us were healthy, they began their experiments.

The scientists were working on creating super soldiers for the army. Their plan was to make a being that was stronger, faster, and less vulnerable than the average soldier. Using mixtures of different DNA and glowing green ooze called mutagen, the scientists experimented on us to see which mixture was right and if not, what adjustments had to be made. Out of the twenty-five infants that were kidnapped from the hospital in Jericho, only twelve survived the injections. There were other infants from other hospitals, but the scientists kept us separated so we wouldn't get mixed up.

Each group of infants was tagged and numbered. We each had names, but for the scientists data and records, we each had a number. My number was SSE-04. That meant that I was super soldier experiment number four. I always thought it was stupid that we had to be called a number instead of our real names but that was what the scientists wanted.

For fifteen years I was a guinea pig for the scientists. Well, me and another girl were guinea pigs. I guess the mutagen made us stronger than the others because we were always picked for experiments. We were what the scientists called unique. We passed all the tests, our records were outstanding. They thought that we were the perfect super soldiers. Unfortunately for the scientists, we were both girls who met the super soldier needs. The scientists thought they had failed and I was happy. I thought it meant that they would stop experimenting on children. But, I was wrong. As it turns out there was something else that was "fascinating" about us. One of the scientists looked at our DNA and found that, even though we were female, we were able to impregnate others, as well as, be impregnated by others. How wonderful. The scientists were thrilled. They didn't fail. After that, they began drawing blood from us every day. I wasn't sure why because I knew they had the technology to clone our DNA from just one blood sample. But, to me, it didn't matter how much blood they took. I knew that to make a baby there had to be an egg cell and a sperm cell. Those came from a female and a male. And from what I saw, there were no males. I was happy again. But, like before, I soon became disappointed. The scientists had technology that could turn the original DNA in sperm into different DNA. That meant that they could take my DNA, as well as the other girls DNA, and turn it into sperm. And they did just that.

The scientists used the girls that were originally part of the super soldier experiment. There were only three girls and the scientists weren't happy. So, they decided to use the eight boys that were also original super soldier experiments and used them as surrogates. I thought it was all wrong. The girls and boys were only fifteen. We all were. Even though I didn't have that much knowledge, I knew that being fifteen and pregnant was wrong. But the other's DNA made them more mature. They had the maturity of a twenty-five year old. So, with eight expecting teenagers, the scientists had something else to record. As it turns out, with the DNA and genes of all of us, the gestation periods were much quicker than the average human. Instead of nine months, the pregnancies were four months. Also, instead of the average one baby, each of the parents had twins. Even though being pregnant at a young age was wrong, I felt sorry for the teens. After the babies were cleaned and checked for problems, they were taken away to some other part of the facility. The teenagers weren't allowed to hold their children. They all cried for hours, begging the scientists to let them have their babies. The scientists just ignored them. After, the babies weren't seen again. The teens eventually got over their losses, but I knew they still hurt.

After about a month, the scientists did the process again. The others had to go through the same pain again. Me and the other girl just watched. My heart ached. My soul was shattered. I wanted out. I wanted to get away from the facility and live a normal life. But, I could never find a chance to try. But, I finally got my wish one day.

I overheard a couple scientists talking about moving some of us to a different site because things were starting to surface about experiments on kids. They knew that if they were discovered experimenting on kids, their project would be destroyed. So, they started to pack up the facility. Me and the others were put into individual cages and placed onto a cart. We were rolled out of the facility and into a large truck. I thought I was doomed. But, when my cage was set down, I noticed that the scientists had failed to lock the padlock on the door. When no one was around, I opened my cage door and crept out. As I began to move towards the entrance of the truck, I heard pleas for help. I looked back and saw several pairs of eyes staring at me. As I looked, I saw that a few of the eyes were looking just to stare. The kids had gotten used to the science lab life and didn't seem to mind that they were in cages. But the other sets of eyes belonged to one of the girls and three of the boys. From the first pregnancy lab, I knew that the four of them had never gotten over the loss of their babies. From the looks in their eyes, I knew that they didn't want to lose their babies again. Even though I never had to go through their experience, I understood. Using my super strength( thank you mutagen), I broke each padlock and helped the kids out. Quietly, we tiptoed out of the truck and into the woods that were right outside. I told the others that they had to run if they wanted to save their babies. They did and stayed close.

The ground hurt our feet and the bushes scratched our skin and ripped our lab gowns, but we all kept running. Soon, we all came to a cliff that dropped down for a good eighty feet. We all knew that we had to jump if we wanted to escape for good. That was another thing that the mutagen and DNA gave us: wings. The scientists taught us to fly and that was one thing that I was thankful for. Glancing back through the woods, I began to hear voices. I panicked and looked at the others.

"Quick! It's now or never!"

Nodding their heads in agreement, the others backed up a good few feet and ran towards the cliff edge. As one they all jumped. I made sure that they caught the air and flew away safely before flying away myself. Looking down while I joined the others, I saw that several of the scientists had finally entered the cliff clearing. They all were shouting and waving their arms. They wanted us back and I knew that they would do anything to get us back. At least they never put tracking chips in us.

We all flew away from the facility and decided to go east. I heard once that the scientists used to get infants from New York but things started to surface so the scientists cut off all contact with New York. I knew that New York was our safe haven and decided to go there. The others agreed with my plan and followed.


	2. New York

It took a couple of days to fly from North Dakota to New York. The fresh air felt awesome against my skin. The sun warmed my wings as I flew through the sky. It had been so long since I flew. At the facility, we were confined to an area around the building. We could jump off the roof and fly around, but the scientists had an electric fence that marked our boundaries. Plus, to go with the electric fence, we had shock collars. So when we tried to go past the fence, we would receive a painful shock to the throat. It sucked. But, now I had freedom. Wide, open space. It was amazing. But that amazingness was cut short when the girl spoke.

"Where are we going to live once we get to New York?"

I didn't want to tell the others because I thought they would disagree and then go off on their own, but I thought about finding a woman who visited the facility a couple of times. She wasn't evil like the scientists. In fact, she tried to get the scientists to stop their experiments once, but she was shot down. She gave the scientists information on hospitals that would soon have newborns and was paid heavily. When the scientists threatened to find someone else to get them information, the woman said she would stop trying to stop them. She said she needed the money because she ran an animal shelter in New York City. I knew that anyone who dedicated their lives to helping animals was definitely a good person. I remember once when she was leaving she actually stopped and looked at me. It was right after I got sent back to my cage because I bit one of the scientists. He had gotten mad and backhanded me hard across the face. He wore a ring and the side cut deep into my cheek. So I ended up with a bruised cheek along with a deep slash that eventually scarred. The sorrow in the woman's eyes told me how sorry she was for me. I haven't forgotten that day.

"Hello? I asked you a question."

"I heard you. I was just thinking that you guys wouldn't like the place I thought of."

"Where is it?"

I paused a moment before telling them.

"I was thinking that we could find the woman who used to visit the facility. You know? The one who tried to stop the scientists?"

They all looked at me and then nodded their heads.

"That sounds like a good idea. The woman was the only person who showed us any sympathy. I think she would be excellent to live with." The girl smiled as she responded.

I was relieved. We had a place to live. Now, if only we could find the place. It might take a couple of days of searching and hiding but, at least we had a plan. I was thinking of a way to find the woman when one of the boys started to get excited.

"Look! Look down there ! I think we made it!"

I looked and was happy to see the bright lights of New York City. We had made it. The sounds of cars and the smells of food rushed up through the clouds. I felt like I was in heaven. I looked down at the city, trying to find a safe place to land, when I noticed that there was a small section that was dark. It looked like a safe place to fly down to.  
>"Hey. Down there in the dark section. I think we can land there for the night. We can start our search for the woman when we're fully rested. What do you think?"<p>

The others pondered my suggestion for a bit and then nodded their heads. I smiled, glad that they agreed, and angled my wings so I flew down towards the dark section of New York City.

The section of city we landed in was quiet. Everybody was either inside for the night or away in the bigger parts of the city. We landed on the rooftops just in case there were some people on the streets. All of us were tired from flying and needed to rest. We were near a water tower so we decided to sleep by it. We didn't mind sleeping on the concrete. We were used to sleeping in cages with hard bottoms so the concrete wasn't much of a difference.

When morning came, we woke up refreshed and ready to start our search. We were about to go down to look around when I saw a slight problem. People were on the streets and there was a good number of them.

"I don't think we'll be able to search till it gets dark again. There are too many people down there. We can't be seen yet."

The others looked slightly disappointed but they didn't argue. They just sat back down on the ground. With nothing to do but wait till nightfall, we hid in the shadows of the roof and went back to sleep.

We searched the streets as quietly as we could. We didn't know the woman's name so we couldn't look her up in a phone book. But we figured that we would try to see if we could find any animal rescues. There had to be a number for that so we looked in the phone book. Sure enough, we found a number for an animal rescue that was actually in the area we landed in. I dialed the number and prayed that the voice on the other end was the woman. I shook as the ringing stopped and a voice spoke.

"Stray No More Animal Rescue. How may I help you?"

"H-Hello? I know this may sound strange but… did you visit a science facility a while ago? They did experiments on kids and threatened to stop paying you because you asked them to stop."

"...How do you know that? That's classified information. Who is this? If you think you're trying to be funny you're sadly mistaken. Who are you?" The woman sounded mad. But I answered her anyway.

"I know because I am one of the kids they experimented on. I escaped along with four others. You looked at me once when you were leaving. You may have seen the tag on my cage. I am SSE-04."


	3. Home

The lady seemed to trust my word and told us her address. We had to walk two blocks, which wasn't very far, before we got to the animal rescue. The building was big but it had a homey look to it. We heard a few dogs barking in the back as we approached the door. I reached out with a shaky hand and knocked on the door. Nothing happened at first but then lights came on. Locks were heard and then the door opened to reveal the woman that we were looked for. She cautiously opened the door and peered out. When she saw us, she looked a little shocked. But I guess the way we looked won her over and she let us inside.

We told the woman what happened with the facility and how we managed to escape. She seemed like she was going to cry but she didn't shed a tear. Instead, she brought us into the kitchen and made us something to eat. The food reminded me that neither one of us had eaten since we escaped, which was a few days ago. After we ate the woman led us upstairs. We all were tired so the woman let us sleep in her spare bedrooms. There were four so we each got our own room. I waited till the others were in their rooms before I went to bed myself. I wanted to talk to the woman a little first. I found her down in the kitchen. She was looking through one of the refrigerators she had. I waited for the woman to turn around before I spoke. I guess I surprised her because she jumped a little.

"Oh! You surprised me. I thought you'd be asleep. Why are you up still?"

"I just wanted to thank you for taking us in."

The woman smiled at me in a caring way and walked over. I thought she was going to say something but instead, she gave me a hug. I didn't know what to do. Nobody had ever hugged me before. I felt warm and comforted. I returned the hug and that's how we stood for a few minutes. Finally, the woman broke us apart. I felt sad that we had to stop but I knew that we couldn't hug forever. I yawned and realized how tired I was. I smiled at the woman as I walked towards the stairs.

"Thank you again. Goodnight ma'am."

"Just call me Maggie."

"Ok. Goodnight, Maggie."

After saying my goodnight and checking on the others, I went to my room. Upon crawling into bed, sleep instantly washed over me as I snuggled deeper into the blankets. For once, I felt warm instead of cold. I was actually comfortable as I drifted into sleep. As I fell into the sweet arms of sleep, I thought about me and the others. We had escaped from evil scientists and then found a person who actually cared about us. We were no longer on the streets and were safe inside a warm home. We could rest easily and not have to worry about what terrible event would happen to us next.


	4. Crime and Punishment

We came to find out that Maggie was a fantastic woman. She was caring, loving and a fantastic cook. She acted like a mother to us. And like all mothers who get new children, she gave us names. But with her, she named us like she named her animals. She thought about our looks and our personalities. For me, my name was Raven because of my black hair and my leadership over the others. I wasn't entirely sure about the leadership part, but my hair was black like the feathers of a raven. I liked the name a lot. For the girl, Maggie named her Sophie. She was sweet and had an innocent face. Sophie was definitely the perfect name for her. For the boys, they both had the same personality. They liked to act tough but they were really gentle. Maggie decided that their names would be Luke and Eric. They seemed fine with the names and thanked Maggie.

After getting our names, Maggie said that it was ok for us to live with her. I knew it was going to happen anyways but it was good to hear that it was official. Maggie then told us that, since we were going to live with her, we could decorate our rooms however we wanted. That was good because it meant that Sophie, Luke and Eric could start preparing for the birth of their babies. They seemed especially happy because no one was going to take the babies away this time.

We lived with Maggie for a month before she allowed us to go out on our own. Sophie, Luke and Eric would have loved to go out, but they were showing. And the showing brought the pregnancy symptoms. The symptoms weren't that bad but Sophie and the boys didn't want to go out in public. I couldn't blame them. With Sophie, Luke and Eric at home, Maggie and I went shopping together.

We went to some clothing stores to see if we could find Sophie, Luke and Eric some bigger clothes. I also wanted to find some new clothes for myself. Maggie had some clothes that she didn't like anymore and had given them to me. They were nice clothes, but they weren't me. We spent the entire day shopping and had found some nice things. The sun had set and the street lights had come on.

Maggie and I started to walk home. Maggie was laughing as she told me a story about something that involved one of the cats at the shelter and a tissue box. She was in the middle of the story when she suddenly stopped.

"Damn it! I forgot to get some pads for the new puppies. Raven? Are you ok to continue on your own? I'll only be a bit. The closest store that has puppy pads is only two minutes from where we stand."

I nodded and smiled. "I'm ok. You go get the pads. Here. I'll take the bags and bring them to the house."

"Thanks, Raven. I'll be back as soon as I can." I took the bags from Maggie and continued to walk home.

I was probably about a block away from home when I heard a scream near by. It was definitely a woman and she sounded scared. I looked around and saw the woman who screamed. She was in an alley and was cornered by a man who wore all black. No ordinary person would have seen it but thanks to my supervision, I could see that the man was holding a knife to the woman's throat. From what I could tell, the man was threatening the woman and demanding that she give him all her valuables. The woman was crying and begging the man but he wouldn't have it. Finally, the woman gave in and gave the man her purse and the few pieces of jewelry that she wore. The man ran off but not before he punched the woman, rendering her unconscious.

I watched the whole thing with dread. I knew I should have done something but I was afraid of what would have happened. Back at the science facility, the scientist would do experiments to see what we could do when threatened. They always put us against either an animal or a person. It was always the same ending. The animal or person would charge us, the person usually wielding some sort of weapon, and we would get scared. Apparently, the scientists noticed that there was some other mutation in our DNA that allowed us to control some sort of element. I could control two. I could control fire as well as metal. Well, technically I could only make chains appear. The scientists seemed impressed and tried other things to see what made me tick. It turns out that I can get extremely angry when provoked. Luckily, the scientists seemed to "care" a little and didn't go ahead with anymore tests. It was because of what the scientists did that made me stare and watch.

Two weeks passed and I still thought about the woman. I thought about how I should have done something. Then I thought about how there was others like the woman who got mugged. They were probably left to defend themselves against their attackers. Well, that was going to change. With my abilities, I could protect the people who couldn't protect themselves. But I had one small problem. If I was going to be a vigilante, I had to have some sort of costume. But it had to be awesome. It had to be something that the bad guys would remember.

I raced across the rooftops, a silhouette against the night. It had taken me a few days and a bit of money, but I finally got together a costume. I wore a tight leather tank top with matching leather leggings, knee-high combat boots, a leather utility belt, finger less black gloves that went up to my elbow and a black mask over my eyes. The mask was just a strip of cloth but it was made to be a mask. I didn't have a weapon but I would save that for later.

I jumped over a few allies before I heard a scream. I was in mid-jump over an alley so I did a quick stop-and-turn before launching myself back in the direction the scream came from. The scream came from a girl who was surrounded by a group of seven guys who were way older than her. They were making faces at her and saying disturbing things. I watched as she turned to try to keep everyone in her sight but when her back would be turned, a guy would lunge at her causing her to shriek. My blood boiled with anger, almost literally. A poor girl was being tormented by a bunch of guys and she was completely terrified. I decided that enough was enough and went into action.

"It's creeps like you that make the streets unsafe. You should be ashamed of yourself."

All eyes landed on me. The girl looked surprised and relieved. Someone had come to her rescue at last. The guys on the other hand looked mad. Someone had ruined their fun. One guy spoke and it seemed like he was speaking for everyone.

"Who the hell are you? This is none of your business. Get lost before we come up there and make you."

I chuckled and jumped down to their level. A normal person would have broken something but I wasn't normal. The guys seemed shocked as I landed unharmed on the ground and walked right in the middle of them.

"It's not nice to hurt those who can't fend for themselves. You prey on the weak just to get what you think you deserve. But in reality, without all the goods you steal from others, you would be the same. Just another weak animal that gets preyed upon."

I saw fury building up in the eyes of the guy who spoke to me first. He must have been the leader of the group.

"Listen and listen good. If you don't move your ass out of this alley you are going to regret ever coming down here. Understand?"

"Oh. Yes, I do understand very clearly."

I turned as if to walk away but quickly spun around and punched the guy right in the nose. He stumbled back and hit the concrete with a grunt. i smiled at his pain. His punishment was just beginning. He glared at me from the ground and then pushed himself up, lunging at me.

"BITCH! YOU'RE DEAD NOW!"

The guy lunged at me, fists flying. I dodged every attack and then kicked the guy in the stomach. He stumbled but regained his footing. He was really mad. But the poor guy didn't have any fighting skill. I didn't either but the moves just seemed to come to me naturally. We kept fighting until signs showed that the guy was becoming tired. His moves slowed and he was breathing heavy. I laughed a little and decided that the guy had had enough.

"I think you have had a little too much fun. Why don't you just lay down and sleep for a while." With that, I gave the guy a nice roundhouse kick to the head. He flew sideways and slammed into the wall. With a thud, he landed on the ground completely unconscious. I then turned my attention back to the others and was suddenly annoyed. No one moved once as I fought the leader. They just watched. But they slowly began to react to the scene. Some of them even started to back up slowly. I snickered and shook my head.

"Where do you boys think you're going. You're not gonna let your boss take the fall for your crime are ya?"

The guys just stared at like they had no clue what I just said. I shook my head at them and let them have it. I brought my arms up with my hands curled together like I was holding a pole. Bringing my hands apart, a chain extended. The guys looked scared and started to run. Quick and fast, I threw my chain at the guys. As if the chain was a living thing, I silently told it to wrap itself tightly around the runners and lock it self closed. The chain did what I wanted and caught the guys before they could get away. Like a dog at the end of its leash, the guys were yanked back. I shook my head as I pulled the guys back like a fisherman bringing in his line.

"You did this to yourselves. Living a life of crime is no way to live. You boys should review your lives because you will have a lot of time to think in jail."

The guys grumbled when I mentioned jail. I snickered to myself and then remembered the girl. She was still in the alley and had seen everything. She looked like she had been to hell and back. But she was ok. I walked back and joined the girl where she stood.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you in any way?"

"I'm alright. They just shook me up a bit. Thanks for saving me."

"You are welcome. No one should be treated like that. They are definitely going to get put away for this."

"You know what? You remind me of some friends of mine. They go around and save people from time to time. They probably would have beat you to the save but they had some other things to do tonight."

"Well, next time you see them, tell them they should look out for you more."

"I will. I promise."

I smiled at the girl and then turned to leave. But the girl had a few last words.

"Wait! Don't I get to know the name of my savior?"

I turned to her with a nervous expression. I couldn't tell her what my name was. That would break the whole hero thing. I thought quickly and found a name that would be suitable for my hero life.

"Shadow. My name is Shadow."

The girl stared at me quizzically but seemed to see that I was serious. She nodded with acceptance. I nodded back and started to leave again. But a thought entered my mind and I turned back to the girl.

"By the way, you should probably call the police and tell them what happened. Don't want to leave these guys sitting around."

The girl nodded with agreement. "Right. I'll do that now. Oh, just so you know the name of the girl you saved, my name is April."

"Nice to meet you, April."

With that I walked to the end of the alley. I figured I wouldn't meet April again so I decided that I would give her one last surprise. Dropping down to one knee and pushing up, I opened my wings and flew away from the scene. I wished I could have seen April's face but I had to go as sirens and flashing blue lights approached the alley I had been in.

I stood looking down at the streets from the rooftops. I thought about the events of the night and realized that there were still more bad guys out in the streets. They had to be stopped and I would be the one to stop them. I backed away from the edge and started to walk in the direction of home. As I started to break into a run, something caught my eye. They were heading away from me but they were close enough to see the colors of their masks. Four green shapes, each with a different colored mask. I could see a red, blue,orange, and purple mask. As I watched the four shapes drop off the roof, the one wearing the red mask lingered. I couldn't see the eyes but I could tell that the being was looking at me. I stared back until the being disappeared.

I silently went back home and slipped through my bedroom window. I hid my costume in a box and hid it in my closet. Then I crawled into the covers and started to fall asleep. The events of the night played in my head over and over. But the being that watched me was the most recurring. What was it? I thought about the possibilities as I finally fell asleep.


	5. What Lies Beneath the Streets

I continued going out and saving people. I felt that I had a responsibility to protect the people of New York City. I felt like I could use my abilities for the greater good. I also liked the fact that people were talking about my hero side. I would hear people on the streets talking about how there was female hero going around and helping people. I felt proud that "Shadow" was being recognized as a hero. But there were some people who thought there was no need for a vigilante. Obviously they had no idea what happened at night.

I silently ran through the shadows, blending in. So far, no one needed any help so I was just doing a little patrolling around the neighborhood. I scanned the streets from the rooftops. I didn't see any trouble but I did see a familiar girl with orange hair. I smiled and decided that I would go say hi. It didn't hurt to check up on people.

I jumped down from the roof into an alley. i peeked around the corner to see if April was coming and she was. I smiled with excitement as she got closer. I waited until she passed before I called out to her.

"April!"

April jumped when she heard her name and turned around quickly. She looked scared and I felt a little bad that I scared her. I slowly walked out from the shadows of the alley into the light so April could see that I wasn't a threat. She seemed relieved and smiled as she walked closer.

"Hi, Shadow. What are you doing here? I'm obviously not in any trouble so i don't see a reason why you are here?"

'I was just doing some patrolling and I saw you walking down the street. I figured I would come say hi and see how you were doing."

April smiled and nodded before replying.

"I was just on my way to visit my friends. I told you about them when you saved me from the thugs who were crowding me. They saw all the news reports about you on tv. They seem a little curious about you."

I was interested in what April said and wanted to know more but we were interrupted. A white truck screeched to a stop and four identical men jumped out of the back. The second they touched the pavement, all four men started shooting at us. But their guns didn't shoot bullets. Blasts of purple laser beams were shot at us. I had no clue what to do and just stood there until April grabbed my wrist.

"Come on! We gotta get out of here!"

I would have just flown away but I just went with April. We ran down a few streets, the men following. At one point a laser bullet hit me in the arm. Pain immediately followed and I fell clutching my arm. April had to pull me to my feet and pull me behind her. Taking my hand away from my wound, I saw that itwas covered in blood. A quick look at my injury showed me that a curved indent had been carved out of my skin and was now bleeding heavily. I covered my wound as best I could, hoping no blood was falling and leaving a trail.

April and I had ran for what felt like forever before April pulled me into an alley. April seemed like she knew what she was doing but I panicked. We were trapped and the guys were gonna kill us with their lasers. I started to think about abandoning April and flying away when I heard a noise behind me. April was lifting the cover to the sewer. She looked at me with a frantic look.

"We have to get down into the sewer. We'll be safe."

"Are you crazy. Don't you think the guys are going to realized that we went down into the sewer? There is no other way out of here."

April looked annoyed but she didn't give in.

"You have to trust me on this."

I stared at her in dumbfoundment before going down into the sewer. I had no other choice and I wasn't going to abandon April. After securing the lid back in place, April led me through the tunnels of the sewer. I followed her reluctantly while still holding my bleeding arm.

"Where are we going?"

"We're almost there. Donnie will patch you and you can rest for a little bit. Plus, Mikey got pizza so we can have dinner with them."

I had no clue what she was talking about.

"Who are you talking about?"

April seemed to realize that she didn't explain what she was talking about and laughed a little.

"My friends live down here."

'The ones you told me about?"

April nodded before walking forward again. I followed her and after a little we came to a set of railroad tracks. April walked down like there was nothing to worry about but I stopped at the edge. April noticed that I didn't follow her and seemed to know what I was thinking.

"It's okay. These tracks are abandoned. No trains use them anymore."

I stared at her for a few seconds before deciding that she was telling the truth. I followed April down the tracks, staring at the ground but watching April's feet so I knew where to go. I didn't really pay attention to the surroundings for a little bit but a bump into April told that we were at the destination April was headed for.

"Here we are."

I looked up and saw that we were in an abandoned subway station. But it had been transformed into someones home. A tv was on showing some sort of cartoon show and there were various objects around that suggested that teenagers lived here. April seemed calm and used to the place as she called out.

"Hey guys. I brought a friend with me but she needs help. The kraang were after us and a laser hit her. She's bleeding badly."

Nothing happened at first but four green beings walked out into the room. I stared in shock as I realized that I was staring at the green beings from before. They stared back at me with almost the same amount of shock. I looked around at each of the green beings until my eyes landed on the one with the red mask. Bright green eyes met bright green eyes. It almost seemed like something passed between the two of us in that moment. But the moment ended as I was consumed by a wave of dizziness. Everything went black as I fell to the floor. I must have lost more blood than I thought. Worried voices filled my ears. The last thing I remembered was being lifted off the ground by the red masked being.

I woke up a little while later, groggy and confused. My vision was blurry so I couldn't quite see my surroundings. But my vision cleared up and I could see that I was in some sort of lab. It looked like a science lab. There were beakers and test tubes and computers with various things on them. But the thing that caught my attention was the container of mutagen. I saw it a few times at the facility so I knew what it could do. All at once, flashes of memories rushed into my mind. Beatings and abuse and the tests the scientists made me do flooded my mind, causing me to cry out. I must have been really loud because I heard footsteps running into the lab. The thought that it was the scientists coming to punish me made me scared. I didn't know where to go so I just ran into the farthest corner I could find and curled myself into a ball on the floor. The people who came into the room found me and circled me. I didn't look out of fear that I would look into the faces of the scientists.

"Please don't hurt me again. I promise I'll be good this time. I swear."

Confused murmurs passed between the people around me. One voice sounded familiar but in my state of panic I wasn't sure.

"Shadow, we're not going to hurt you. You're safe here. Please calm down."

After the familiar voice, an unfamiliar one followed.

"Dude, she's totally flipping out. What you do to her, Donnie?"

"I didn't do anything to her except clean her wound, Mikey. She must be remembering something that happened to her. If that's the case, I wonder what happened that's causing her to freak out like this?"

I started to realize that the voices didn't belong to any of the scientists I remembered. I then remembered the events of the night. I met up with April and wewere chased by identical looking guys with laser guns. I was hit and then April brought me down into the sewers and into an abandoned subway station that was the home to four green beings. I then remembered looking into the face of the being that wore the red mask before passing out. I started to calm down anduncurl myself. The others seemed to see that I was starting to calm down and seemed a little less worried.

"Shadow? Are you ok now? Do you want to talk about what made you so scared?"

I looked at April and saw that she was worried for me. I saw that even though we barely knew each other, she cared about my well-being. I wiped away my tears and smiled at her.

"Yeah. I think I do want to talk about it."

I got up from the floor and allowed April to escort me from the lab to the living-room like area. I walked by the green beings who seemed relieved that I was fine. But as I passed the red masked being, I saw something in his eyes that suggested that he was worried the most about me. It was almost like he had feelings for me that were deeper than everyone else.


	6. New Friends and New Feelings

"We flew here and have been living with Maggie since then."

I told everyone my story after I was formally introduced to the turtles. From the science facility to Maggie. I even told them that my real name was Raven. Everyone was silent as they took in my story. April looked sad, Donatello looked both sad and interested, Michelangelo looked stunned, Leonardo looked like he felt sorry, and Raphael looked mad. Silence surrounded us until Raphael broke it.

"How could that happen?! How could they do that to you?! If I ever met them, I would give them a beat down so hard they would be hurting for months. You didn't deserve any of that."

I was shocked by Raph's words. I would have said something back but Mikey sort of ruined the whole touchy moment.

"So your name isn't Shadow? That's crazy! Does anyone else find that crazy?!"

Raph sighed with annoyance. "Do you have to ruin everything with your stupid questions?"

Mikey glared at Raph. "What!? I just find it crazy that she is both Raven _and_ Shadow. It's like she's two different people in one body."

Raph sighed again. "Am I gonna have to slap some sense into you?"

Mikey looked a little scared and didn't ask anymore questions. We sat in silence for a little more but the sound of a grumbling tummy was heard. My cheeks turned red from embarrassment. April giggled along with the turtles. I joined in, finding my hunger funny as well. After sharing the pizza that had been waiting in the kitchen, I got more comfortable around the turtles. Each of the brothers was unique in their own way and I felt that I could relate to them somehow. Leonardo and I both were leaders, trying to do what we thought was right of our siblings. Michelangelo was sort of childish but I could be too. I didn't really share anything with Donatello except for the friendship of April. But the brother I felt more close to was Raphael. We both had anger issues, we both had bright green eyes, we cared for our siblings but didn't show it, and even though we didn't say it or show it at first, we both had feelings for eachother.

"Hey Raven? Do you wanna go on a patrol with us?"

I was laying on the ground, reading a comic that Raph let me read, when Leo's words tore me from the pages. It sounded like a great idea. I usually did a quick patrol before going down to visit the turtles and would stay in the lair with April while the turtles went out on their rounds. I sometimes joined April in her training with Master Splinter. Sensei said that I didn't really need any training because I had a unique ability that allowed me to use moves that I had seen, even if the moves were quick. I looked at Leo with a smile as joined the brothers by the stairs.

"I would love to join you guys. I could do with a break from sensei."

Leo laughed a little in understanding. Master Splinter could do some hard lessons sometimes and they really took a toll on the body. Besides, April could use some one-on-one time with Master Splinter. I followed the turtles while walking next to Raph, who smiled slightly. We went up to the surface and began our patrol.

The night air felt warm on my skin as we went from rooftop to rooftop. The brothers seemed like they were keeping an eye out for something specific but I wasn't sure. I followed in the back, blending with the shadows, not making a sound. The brothers stopped after a while and looked down at the town. They spread out so they could cover more space. I stood a little bit aways from Raph and looked down at the streets. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and it was like that for a bit. But I soon had the feeling that I was being watched.

I looked over at the brothers but they all were looking around still. I looked around, seeing nothing at first. But then, I noticed swift black shapes moving towards us. There was a lot of them and I started to worry.

"Raph?"

He turned to me and saw the worry in my eyes. Concern showed on his face.

"What is it?"

"There are black shapes moving towards us fast. There's a lot of them."

"What?!"

Before he could say anymore, we were surrounded. The black shapes had gotten to us and I saw that they were ninjas. All of them stood in fighting stances and seemed like they were waiting for some command. Then, a girl with short hair cut stepped up. Leonardo seemed the most angered about her.

"Karai! What are you up to?"

Karai smiled at Leo and stepped forward more. She seemed to enjoy the turtles anger towards her.

"I'm just doing something for my father. He's heard about the new vigilante. Hearing that she has unique abilities has him interested. He wants her on our side and will do anything to get what he wants."

I felt my stomach drop at what Karai said. Whoever Shredder was, he didn't sound like someone I wanted to meet and from the looks the turtles gave Karai, they didn't like him either. I started to get scared as some of the ninjas took a few steps toward me. Raph saw the fear in my eyes and stood in front of me, a protective shield against the enemy. I looked at Raph and saw something in his eyes that made my heart skip a beat. A fierce need to protect filled Raph's eyes along with something else that I couldn't make out.

"Shredder isn't going to get her. As long as I'm alive that ain't gonna happen and I'll fight off anyone who tries to take her."

I heard the determination in his voice and felt a weird mix of feelings stir within me. Since the night I fainted in the lair and Raph held me in his arms, I knew there were feelings that we both felt for each other but nothing was said. But at that moment, I knew Raph felt something for me. Karai smiled, like what Raph said was funny.

"Try all you want. Shredder always gets what he wants. At least when it comes to getting a new follower."

With that, Karai signaled to the ninjas. A few went straight for me but Raph blocked them. He fought off the ninjas but was soon against more. I looked at the others and saw that they were fighting as well. Leonardo was fighting Karai while Donnie and Mikey fought the ninjas side by side. I wasn't sure what to but I didn't have time to think. Four ninjas had surrounded me and attacked. Instinct overcame me and I fought back.

I jumped over the ninjas and landed lightly on my feet, into a crouching position. They came at me again, but I had the upperhand. Besides making chains appear, I can turn the chains into things. Quickly, I made a metal staff. The ninjas seemed startled but they didn't stop attacking. I jabbed and thrusted my staff at the ninjas, hitting them in various places, until all four lay on the ground unconscious. I looked around and saw that most of the ninjas were unconscious on the ground. The brothers were still fighting the ninjas that were still standing. But I grew concerned when I saw that Karai was nowhere in sight. I looked around but didn't see her. I tried to look some more but a few of the remaining ninjas had attacked. I fought them as best I could. It seemed like I was going to win, but a warning cry from Raph and a blow from behind ended my winning streak.

I hit the ground and my vision blurred slightly, but only for a moment. I got up, turned to face my attacker and came face to face with Karai. She was smiling like she had won.

"Bet you thought you would get away. Think again. Shredder gets what he wants and what he wants is you. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

Karai smiled again and waited. I backed up a bit but sensed that a few ninjas were blocking my way. I looked down, trying to think of a way out. I couldn't think of a way that would allow me to get out without fighting, but nothing came to mind. Karai huffed in annoyance.

"Time's up."

She charged at me, her katana ready to cut me down. But I still had my staff and blocked her attack. We went one on one for a little bit but Karai saw that I was getting tired. I blocked each attack but my moves were getting slower. At one point, Karai knocked my staff from my hands, sending it to the other side of the roof, where it disappeared in a burst of flames. Then, with a roundhouse kick to the side of my face, Karai knocked me to the ground. I felt blood burst inside my mouth and blood drip down the side of my face. Karai laughed with triumph and placed the tip if her katana under my chin.

"Thought you had the upper hand. Well, sorry to disappoint you. Now, get up."

I did as I was told and stood. My legs were shaking and my body ached, but I showed no defeat. I glared at Karai, who only smiled. She then made a small signal with her hand and I was grabbed by two ninjas. They held my arms tightly, making escape no longer an option.

Karai smiled and stepped closer. She held something in her right hand and brought it up so I could see. It was a syringe filled with some sort of liquid, exactly like the ones at the science facility. Memories of painful injections and other terrible things came back to me and I broke. I frantically tried to get away but couldn't. Panic and fear swallowed me as the needle got closer. I heard Raph call out to me but I was too lost in the fear to reply. I could only stare at the needle. I continued to struggle and then suddenly, I felt a burning sensation fill my body.

Time went by fast but I saw everything. I felt myself being engulfed in flames and then saw Karai and the ninjas that held me fly backwards in a blast of fire. I was surprised and looked around. The ground beneath me was black and smoking. I looked back at the brothers and saw that they were equally as surprised as I was. I smiled a little but turned back as I heard a shout. Karai had gotten to her feet and was glaring at me.

"This isn't over. Not by a long shot."

With that, she ran off, followed by the ninjas that had regained consciousness. After Karai was gone from sight, I let out a sigh of relief and turned to the turtles. They looked like hell but they seemed ok.

"You did great for your first fight against Karai and the foot."

I smiled at Leo's words and then joined the brothers as they started back for the lair. I let the brothers go ahead before going after them. But as I started to follow, Raph came up next to me.

"You ok?"

I looked up into his eyes and saw concern. I smiled back at him and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Just a little sore."

Raph smiled and then placed an arm around my waist. He pulled me closer to him and we stood side by side. Raph rested his head against mine and I felt him sigh with slight relief.

"I'm glad you're okay."

With that, he gave me a light kiss on the head. I smiled slightly. Then, Raph let go and stood in front of me. He had a sort of playful look on his face.

"Bet you can't beat me back to the alley."

He smiled teaslingly at me. I smiled back and joined him at the "starting line".

"You're on."

We got into running positions. Just as we were about to start, Raph had one last thing to say.

"There's just one rule you have to follow: NO FLYING. This is an all leg race."

I laughed and then raced after Raph. It was nice to know that I had a boyfriend who enjoyed playing games, even after we just fought a bunch of foot ninjas.


	7. Sleepover

A few weeks had passed since Raph and I got together. When everyone found out, they were happy for us. Well, almost everyone was happy for us. Donnie said that he was happy but I saw a hint of jealousy in his eyes. I couldn't blame him. Sure, I wasn't a human girl like April but I was close and Donnie really liked April. I could understand that he would be jealous that his brother had a girlfriend after only a short time of liking her.

"Raven, could you get that?"

I put the book that I was reading down and went to answer the door. To my surprise, April was at the door.

"April!"

"Hi, Raven."

"What are you doing here?"

"Raph wanted to know if you would like to spend the night. I am and I think it would be fun."

I thought about it and wasn't sure. I hadn't told Maggie about the turtles and kept it a secret. How could you ask to spend the night at the home of someone your guardian didn't know about? I looked around to make sure no one was around before looking at April.

"I don't know. Maggie doesn't know about the turtles and Sophie has been complaining about pain which might mean she could have her twins soon."

April looked at me with a puppy-dog face.

"Please come. Raph keeps talking about how lonely he feels when you're gone and I really think it would be fun for everyone. Please spend the night."

She continued to look at me with her puppy-dog eyes. I couldn't resist the eyes and caved.

"Alright. I'll go ask Maggie."

April jumped in place with excitement.

I gestured for April to come inside. She waited in the hall as I went and found Maggie. She was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"Maggie?"

She looked up from the vegetables she was cutting and smiled at me.

"What can I do for you, Raven?"

I took a breath before answering.

"My friend, April O'Neil, wants to know if I can spend the night at her house."

I waited, biting my lip, for Maggie to answer. She looked at me, clearly thinking, and then nodded her head.

"Yes. You may spend the night at April's. You could use some fun time with a friend."

I smiled at Maggie and ran to her. I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Maggie! You're the best!"

I heard Maggie giggle as I ran to the hall, where and expectant April was waiting.

"I can go!"

April's face lit up at the news and she hugged me.

"That's great! We are going to have so much fun. Don't worry. I have some girl stuff that we can do together."

I wasn't entirely sure what girls did but with April around, it had to be fun.

"I'm sure we will have fun. I just have to grab some of my things before we can go."

April nodded and then followed me upstairs to help. We gathered together some clothes for the next day, my pj's, a pillow and a couple blankets, my hairbrush and some hair ties. We placed my belongings in a small backpack that Maggie had given me. The blankets wouldn't fit so we just folded them, stacked them together and, using my chain ability, I made a thin chain and tied the blankets together.

"Thanks again for inviting me, April."

"Don't thank me. Thank your boyfriend. He's the one who wanted you to come over."

I nodded and smiled as I thought of Raph. It felt a little strange to think of him as my boyfriend, but it was a good strange. I liked the thought of Raph being my boyfriend and I loved Raph because he was my boyfriend. April and I continued walking down the street. A familiar smell hit my nose and my stomach growled slightly, reminding me that I hadn't had dinner yet. I looked across the street and saw Antonio's. I then looked over at April.

"Hey, April? Did the guys get pizza yet? I just remembered that I haven't had dinner yet and I'm starting to get hungry."

April stopped and looked like she just remembered something.

"That's right. Leonardo had placed an order for some pizzas and I'm supposed to get them. Thanks for reminding me, Raven."

I smiled and then followed April across the street. I waited outside Antonio's while April got the pizzas. There were four pies in all. It seemed like a lot of pizza but when you're hungry, you have to get enough.

"We're here!"

I smiled as April announced our arrival and walked to the kitchen with the pizza. I set my things down in the living room where Donnie, Leo and Mikey were watching some anime show. It looked a little interesting so I decided to watch a little before getting my food. I made my way over to a spot next to Leo. On the way, I had to dodge a hockey puck that came out of nowhere and almost hit me in the face.

"Watch it, Casey!"

I scowled at the hockey player as he rolled over to the edge of the couch. He didn't seem sorry as he collected his puck. I heard a sigh from Leo.

"Casey, how many times do I have to tell you not to play hockey in the lair. Save it for the streets."

I nodded as I got off the floor. Leo came over with slight concern on his face.

"Are you ok, Raven?"

I nodded but kept my eye on Casey. He just rolled around on his skates, not caring.

"It's not my fault she couldn't see the puck."

Casey set the puck on the ground and got into a shooting stance. I wasn't one to forgive and forget. Before Casey got a chance to hit the puck, I threw a fireball at the end of his stick. I completely burned the end of it. I glared at Casey as he looked at me, stunned at what I had done.

"If you hit that puck one more time, I'm gonna shove it up-"

I was cut off by a hand covering my mouth and an arm that wrapped around my waist. I was pulled backwards into a warm body. A soft kiss was placed on my neck, followed by a warm breath.

"I didn't think you would come."

I smiled at the familiar voice and turned in the arms around me. Raph smiled at me and placed a soft kiss on my lips. All the anger I had towards Casey was forgotten the second my lips met Raphs. After the kiss broke, I hugged Raph and then we walked to the kitchen to get our pizza, Raphs arm still around my waist.

"Donnie, is it true that you have a crush on April?"

We all sat in a circle on the floor of the living room after dinner. April had recommended that we all play truth or dare. Since I had never played it before, it sounded fun. So far, it was. Donnie looked around nervously at everyone and ended at April. She smiled at him, which only made him more nervous. Everyone stared at him, waiting for his answer even though we all knew it was true. We just wanted to hear him say it. After a moment of silence, Donnie blurted out his answer.

"YES!"

Everyone laughed as Donnie hid his head in shame. Mikey laughed the loudest. Donnie looked up and glared at him. Then an evil smile crept onto Donnie's face. He must have had an idea of what to ask because he knew that Mikey would pick it anyway.

"Alright. Mikey, truth or dare?"

"I choose dare, son. There's nothing I won't do."

Donnie chuckled.

" I dare you to go and walk around Master Splinter three times."

Mikey stopped smiling and looked like he was going to wet his shell. Everyone was silent, unable to believe that Donnie would suggest something like that. While we were having fun with the sleepover, Sensei was meditating and we all knew well enough not to disturb him when he was doing his meditation.

"Come on, Don. Anything but that. Please."

"Sorry. You have to do the dare. It's the rules of the game, Mikey."

Mikey looked like he was about to cry as he got up off the floor. His legs were shaking as he walked towards the dojo. We all followed him to watch.

Sensei was on the floor, deep in meditation. The room was silent. As scared as he was, Mikey made sure not to make a sound. He stopped behind Sensei and took a deep breath before beginning his dare. He tried to go fast but realized that he would make noise if he did so. He had no choice but to walk slowly. I watched as Mikey walked around Master Splinter, clutching Raph's arm while doing so. One round down for Mikey. Only two more to go. Mikey walked around once more. Only one more round to go. Mikey started to go around Master Splinter for the last time, but in his haste to get the dare over with, he accidentally tripped himself up. He stumbled forward, but caught himself. There was a little noise when Mikey stumbled and one of Sensei's ears twitched. We all held our breath, waiting to see what Sensei would do. Nothing happened and Mikey quickly finished his round. He silently ran back to us and closed the door to the dojo. No one made a sound as we walked back to the living room. Once there, I let out the breath I had been holding and plopped down on the couch next to Raph.

"That was a close one. Donnie, next time it's your turn, try to pick something that won't get Mikey killed."

Donnie just shrugged and played innocent. April patted Donnie on the shoulder, shaking her head. After that, we all decided that we were done playing truth or dare.

"Hey, Raven? Wanna get our beds ready?"

I nodded and got up from the floor. I was beginning to get tired and settings up the beds sounded like a good idea. April showed me how to fold the blanket so it was like a mattress. It was a cool idea and made it so I didn't have to sleep on the bare couch. When our beds were finished we decided that we were going to go to sleep. Casey had passed out on the other side of the couch and the turtles had gone to sleep too. Climbing into bed, I yawned and smiled.

"Goodnight, April."

"Goodnight, Raven."

Sometime in the middle of the night, I became aware that I was no longer on the couch but in someones arms. They were carrying me somewhere but I was still half asleep so I wasn't completely focused. After a bit, I was placed on a soft bed and covered in a warm blanket. Then, someone crawled in behind me and pulled me close to them. A light kiss was planted on my cheek.

"I love you, Raven."

I knew who the voice was, even in my slight haze.

"I love you too, Raphael."

I fell back asleep, snuggling deeper into Raph's arms. Later in the night, I began having strange dreams. DNA strands flashed before me, combining with other strands of DNA. Strange balls that looked like human eggs floated by. I was confused by what I was seeing. Then the scene changed. The eggs and strands disappeared. I was surrounded by complete darkness. I looked around and then saw two children. One was a boy and the other was a girl. What surprised me was that they were turtles. I walked towards them and they turned back to me. They smiled and ran to me. They hugged my legs and called me "mommy". Strangely, I found myself knowing that they were my children. I looked down at them and kissed them on their heads. It was then that I noticed that the girl had a full head of long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. It didn't seem weird to me and I looked over at the boy. He, too, had a full head of hair, but his hair was short and black. I smiled at him. Suddenly, the children vanished and I was surrounded by noise. I heard a girl screaming, worried voices and babies crying. But the one noise that was the loudest was the sound of a male screaming. He sounded like he was pain. I then heard him call my name and I frantically ran in the directions I heard the voice. I had a feeling that I needed to get to the voice. It felt like there was some sort of event that I had to be there for. As I ran, I realized who the voice belonged to. The voice was Raph.

I woke up but quickly shut my eyes as a light flashed. A warm sensation was felt in my waist but it quickly vanished with the light. I looked around and found that I was in a bedroom. I turned to the person next to me and smiled. Raph looked peaceful in his sleep. I laid back down and snuggled back into Raph's arms. The memory of the dream I had scared me. I had no clue what I had seen but I put it off as nothing as I fell back asleep.


End file.
